


Party Time

by Bookwormgal



Series: Black Crayons [2]
Category: Transformers (Bay Movies)
Genre: Birthday Party, Birthday Presents, Friendship, Gen, Giant Robots, Pre-Relationship Ironhide/Chromia, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-20
Updated: 2014-06-20
Packaged: 2018-02-05 11:27:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1816924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookwormgal/pseuds/Bookwormgal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Annabelle's birthday. Lots of fun is planned for her party, though not all will go as planned. But she is also looking forward to after her party, when she celebrates ANOTHER birthday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Invitations

**Author's Note:**

> Behold, this was intended as my first "Black Crayons" story with multiple chapters rather than just a bunch of one-shots. It was set up by the events of the chapter "Everyone Needs A Birthday." Enjoy!

There are many places where the arrival of a giant transforming robot will be greeted with shock and panic. Sam Witwicky's backyard is not one of them. Off for the summer and enjoying the freedom that entitled, that particular boy was spending time in his girlfriend's company as they gave his disguised car a "bath." All three were surprised as a black truck pulled in. The familiar form of Lennox got out, allowing the truck to convert to his more usual form.

"Hey Lennox. Ironhide," greeted the boy, wet sponge in hand. "What brings you to our fun in the sun?"

The man gained an evil grin. Ironhide seemed to be doing his best to ignore them all studying his array of weaponry. Both of these warriors' reactions gained the interest of the wet trio. Bumblebee transformed out of vehicle mode so he could watch the coming events more closely.

"I know you are out of school for the summer," Lennox smiled, the glint of mischief never leaving his eyes, "So Annabelle asked me to bring this."

What he handed the boy was a colorful birthday invitation for Annabelle's birthday. The time and date were listed clearly as well as directions. Apparently it was just a standard card for a standard party, though the time was earlier in the day than most of the parties Sam had gone to as a child. He still couldn't understand the two visitors' behavior.

"How nice of her," commented Mikaela, reading over her boyfriend's shoulder, "Of course we'll come."

"And I'm supposed to give you this as well," Lennox informed them as he handed over another card.

This one was just shocking from start to finish. This one was completely handwritten and was for another birthday later the same day. Only this one was for…

"Ironhide?" laughed Sam.

Lennox started laughing as well, "Annabelle thought it wasn't fair that he didn't have a birthday, so she picked one for him. And now she wants all his friends to come for his party."

"Thankfully, I was able to convince her not all the Autobots needed to come," Ironhide growled, his cannons still out. "Or else I would have to off-line those infernal twins permanently." Reminded of his general trigger-happy nature, the humans tried to stop laughing so hard. "However, she expects some to be present regardless. So, because you are invited to her party, I decided you can attend," he paused as if it hurt him to say it, "mine. With Bumblebee there, she will be satisfied that her intent is fulfilled."

He said the entire thing so seriously, as if he was planning a military strike, but the humans couldn't keep the goofy grins off their faces. The image of Ironhide at a birthday party was just too funny. On the other hand, the other image of him chasing down the twins and anyone else who laughed, using these poor victims as target practice, helped keep the grins from becoming laughter once more.

"We'd be happy to come," Mikaela smiled, thinking how sweet it was he was willing to risk this kind of humiliation just to keep Annabelle content. "I might even bring Wheelie."

Both Ironhide and Sam gave her a pained look. Neither were particular fond of her "mini guardian." Ironhide because he was an ex-Decepticon and Sam because the little bot was too attached to his girlfriend at times. But he was obedient to the "Warrior Goddess," and would mind his manners if Mikaela told him to.

"If you bring Wheelie, ask him to watch his language," requested Lennox. "I don't want her to pick up anymore curse words, human or Cybertronian."

"I didn't know she was there," the towering transformed truck defended, "And I only said it once."

Lennox pointed out, "Either way, I still had a hard time convincing her not to say 'slag' after that. If you end up teaching her an alien tongue, could you try to stick to G rated stuff until she starts elementary school."

"I said I was sorry," he grumbled.

Mikaela interrupted their argument, "I'll be sure to tell them. Anyone else that we should invite? Annabelle would love to meet more Autobots, I'm sure.

"Just avoid letting the twins know anything," advised Lennox, "Because there would be no controlling them. If Ironhide didn't kill them with his cannons for all the teasing they would be sure to do, I would because they would teach my daughter every curse known to man or machine."

"We'll use our best judgement," Sam agreed. "Well be sure to see you then."

As Ironhide transformed and drove himself and Lennox back towards home, Sam looked at his girlfriend and best friend with an evil grin.

"This is just too good," he snickered, "That little girl is brilliant. She deserves an award for this."

"Come on Sam. She's trying to be nice." Mikaela reasoned. "She doesn't think this will embarrass Ironhide."

Addressing Bumblebee, the boy asked, "So what do you think? Want to go?"

Out of his radio came the musical answer, "Let's get it started!"


	2. Party Hat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short glimpse of how strongly Annabelle has the weapon specialist tied around her little finger.

"No, I flatly refuse. Annabelle, I am already having a 'birthday party.' Why this too?" the weapon specialist questioned the young stubborn girl.

Sighing, she answered in a tone of extreme patience and practiced understanding, "Because you're having a party. It's part of the whole thing. It's not a real party if you don't have it."

"But look at it," he held up the offending object as if it would explode. A small, paper cone dangled by a very long string that looped down before returning back to the colorful cone. "I am not wearing a 'party hat.' The thing is pointless."

"I already fixed it so the string is long enough," Annabelle pointed out. "Please Ironhide, it is important. It's not a real birthday party without the hat."

Ironhide glared at Lennox, whose shoulders were shaking with the effort of not laughing at the sight of the confrontation between giant robot and tiny child. The girl had fixed this up in their absence and now she was using all the weaponry at her disposal to win the fight. Reason, guilt, pouty chin, and puppy-dog eyes were all used. Still he held firm.

"Annabelle, really, can I not simply skip the 'party hat'? I do not wish to," he begged. Ironhide begging? He cringed as he realized how far he had truly fallen into this small human's grasp. He would never have begged a Decepticon for his life, but a tiny child could reduce him to pleading with no weapon to threaten him with beyond possibly tears. "I just really don't want to wear the 'party hat' at the party."

The girl looked at her friend with empathy, "You don't want your friends to see it. You think they might make fun of you."

Happy with her understanding, Ironhide quickly replied, "Yes, some might find the paper cone head covering amusing. And as much as you have always wanted to see me fire against live targets, I would prefer not to have to blast them at the 'party.' Is that alright?"

Slowly, she answered, "Okay, you don't have to wear them at the party, Ironhide. You can just wear it now."

Knowing this was the best compromise he was going to receive, Ironhide bent low so Annabelle could help put it on properly. Staring at the increasingly amused Lennox, he delivered a warning.

"If I so much as think you are using a camera or video recorder, I will have to have a very violent 'discussion' with you involving my cannons."


	3. Her Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The return of Carl.

Annabelle was practically bouncing with excitement. Her birthday had finally arrived. And Ironhide's too. This morning, all her classmates would show up. The backyard had already been decorated with colorful streamers and a pair of picnic tables. Mommy had made two cakes. One with her name on it in purple frosting and one with Ironhide's in black. Daddy had hung up a piñata as the girl explained to a confused Cybertronian what it was for.

The day was already warm since summer had started already. Preschool had ended two weeks ago, but she had given invitations on the last day. Suzie's mommy had already called to say they were coming.

The black "truck" had pulled to a safe distance from the planned festivities. He had told her he did not intend to be climbed over by "a horde of strange organic younglings." She remembered his reaction to the chaos of the jungle gym at school. Ironhide didn't want all that trouble and fuss from people he didn't know. But he would still watch from somewhat afar.

As the time for the party rolled around, Annabelle began to watch the road. The trickle of people was exceedingly slow and small. After a while, it became apparent that only five kids from school had come. The rest were apparently on vacation, out of town, or just forgot. What was very disappointing was one of the students who did come was Carl. Sure, Suzie being here was nice, but the red-haired boy's presence bothered Annabelle.

Sam and Mikaela had arrived in his "car." She was excited to see her favorite human baby-sitters, though Mikaela did most of it while Sam was a long way away at college. They were fun because she didn't have to keep secrets with them. She had even told Mikaela once, when Ironhide was with Daddy working, why she attacked Carl. The older girl agreed she would have done the same thing.

For a while, they played tag and musical chairs. Suzie was very talented at piñata, breaking it on her third swing. Annabelle was rather enjoying herself. She glanced over at Ironhide occasionally. Despite himself, he had slowly crept closer to have a better view of the children's activities. The young girl grinned at him, letting him know he wasn't fooling anyone.

Suddenly, a chorus of screams interrupted the festivities. Most of her classmates ran to hide behind the confused parents. Annabelle spotted the problem and felt her tiny hand ball into a fist.

Carl had decided to add some excitement to the party with a good scare. He was chasing the frightened children while wearing a mask. It was green with big, black eyes. And he was shouting.

"Earthlings! Must abduct Earthlings!"

How dare that boy do this? Angry tears rolled down her face. Carl was just too mean. Annabelle ran towards him, fury in her eyes. The mischievous red-head realized his fatal mistake. While he could scare nearly any of his classmates, Annabelle didn't get afraid. She got mad. Reminded of when she last attacked him, he ripped off his mask and ran for the protection of his mother.

The girl, trying to catch the cruel child, was snatched up by her usual baby-sitter. Mikaela began to quietly hiss into the struggling Annabelle's ear.

"Stop, it's not worth it. Calm down. Besides, he's in trouble with his parents now."

The older girl's words proved true as the red-head's mother began to scold her son and apologize to her hosts at the same time. Carl was dragged to the car as he alternated between defending himself and asking if he had to leave before the cake. Overall, it looked like her would be in trouble for quite a while.

Annabelle was slowly transferred from the older girl's grip to her parents'. After having her hair stroked for a few minutes, she asked her mommy if she could go somewhere for a little while. Guessing where she wanted to be, they agreed. Her daddy led the remaining four children to where Pin the Tail on the Donkey was set up. Annabelle pulled herself into the familiar cab of the black truck.

* * *

Ironhide's voice slowly asked, "Am I to assume that… **boy** … is the one you have had a confrontation with in the past?"

"Yes, that's Carl," she confirmed, "He's mean and a bully. He likes to scare people."

"And that latex-based face concealing covering he was wearing," he carefully inquired, "was, according to the internet, a classic representation humanity has of what aliens are believed to appear like."

Annabelle nodded, "It's an alien mask. He wanted to scare everyone into thinking aliens are bad and coming to get them. He tried to do it before, at school. It made me mad."

Not sure to how respond, Ironhide quietly commented, "Well, it isn't a very good representation. I don't look anything like that. But one of the twins _is_ close to that shade of green."

This started the girl giggling. Ironhide had told her about Mudflap and Skids and they would be flattered to know their likeness was pulling pranks. They would be trying to take credit for crop circles next.

"And that boy was ignorant of what he was saying," he continued, trying not to chase down the vile human who upset his Annabelle so much. "He does not truly believe in aliens and so does not realize what his actions imply. But he still tried to disrupt your birthday and frighten the other younglings for no reason. Are you sure you don't want me to go find him?" The Cybertronian was seriously considering it, He would give that boy a reason to fear aliens.

"No Ironhide, it's okay," she answered, "He's mean, but not evil like the bad robots you fight. I was just mad that he keeps trying to convince everyone all aliens are bad. It's not fair because you're good. But I don't think you should fire your cannons at him anyway."

"Very well," he conceded, but promising himself that if he ever saw that child try that again, he would give him a very memorable warning. "But should you not return to your party, Annabelle? I believe it is nearly time to 'blow out the candles,' is it not?"

Okay Ironhide. And later, we'll have your party. No stupid Carl allowed," she reminded her robotic friend.

She climbed out and headed back to her guests, leaving her Autobot companion to groan about his coming fate and imagining fun scenarios, involving Carl and his cannons, as a distraction.


	4. Mini-Con

Around noon, the last of Annabelle's classmates left. Suzie, once Annabelle had rejoined the party, had tried to cheer up her friend about Carl's meanness. But, surprisingly for her, the birthday girl already seemed to be getting over it. So the rest of the party had passed without a problem. Candles were blown, cake was eaten, and gifts were received. Annabelle's favorite so far from her friend's was Suzie's of a toy black truck. After that, the four children left with their parents, who told her how sorry they were about her party being messed up. As the last car pull down the road, Sam walked over to his vehicle.

Opening Bumblebee's door, a small blue toy car shot out. With a familiar sound, Annabelle watched as three shapes transformed into more bipedal forms. She stared at the changed toy with an oddly apprehensive expression.

"Man, did you have to leave me in there so long, Warrior Goddess? Do you realize how hot it is in there?" he muttered.

"Annabelle, are you alright?" inquired Ironhide, noticing her expression.

She dashed behind her friend's metal foot, keeping him between her and the small blue robot. "Scary," she whimpered, pointing.

"Hold it. Are you telling me small fry over there, who lives with the most violent Autobot ever to land on this rock, is afraid of me?" asked the stunned tiny Cybertronian.

Strange as it may seem, she was more nervous of a robot her own size than one that towered over her. She had no problems meeting Bumblebee because he reminded her of Ironhide. This smaller robot wasn't anything like him in her mind. Mikaela walked over to the frightened child.

"Don't worry, Annabelle. Wheelie isn't going to hurt you. He's my friend." She ignored Sam's groan and eye-rolling. "I told him to be nice at your's and Ironhide's parties, so he will be. Or I get to fry his optics out with my blowtorch again."

This earned a giggle from the girl and a shout of protest from Wheelie. But Annabelle wasn't completely convinced yet.

"Scary eyes," she mumbled. She knew that in all of her cartoons, bad guys had red eyes and an evil laugh. Wheelie hadn't done an evil laugh yet, but his red eyes were creepy. "Ironhide's and Bumblebee's eyes are nice. Wheelie's are not."

"Can't help it, toots," he called to the young girl. "Not all of us can be as good looking as the rest of the Autobots. Of course, have you seen Mudflap and Skids? Their faces, not even…"

"Thank you, Wheelie," interrupted Mikaela, "That's enough. Remember what I said about manners and my blowtorch?" Leaving him to mutter, she turned her attention back to young Annabelle. "I promise, he's a good guy now. He used to be bad though. That's why his eyes are red. But he won't hurt you."

"Besides, if he misbehaves," pointed out Ironhide, "I can always use the target practice."

Reassured by both her baby-sitter and her friend, Annabelle came out to meet the short Cybertronian. It was a rather odd experience for her to be face to face with a robot her size. The only other two she had met were huge. Only one explanation occurred to her.

"Are you a baby robot?" she asked Wheelie.

Ironhide, her parents, Sam, Mikaela, and even Bumblebee through his radio began laughing as Wheelie stuttered, trying to formulate a coherent answer to her question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, but we're all thinking it Wheelie (or at least all the young kids are). Look on the bright side, someone is actually intimidated by you. Because no one else was.


	5. Party Guests

Who do you invite to an Autobot's birthday party? If you are Sam and Mikaela, you pick the robots you know best. Bumblebee and Wheelie were the easiest to choose. But who else would be ideal? Not the twins. No one wanted to see the results of Mudflap and Skids showing up. And they really didn't know Jolt and Sideswipe well enough to be any judge of how they would react. Mikaela had voted to invite the triplets. They were one of the more interesting newcomers. Not only could they be counted as three separate entities of Arcee, Flareup, and Chromia, they could also be simply one larger form still called Arcee. Mikaela had claimed she thought Annabelle should meet a few girl Autobots. Sam figured "why not?"

Finally, they decided Ratchet should come as well as Optimus Prime. They had been on Earth as long as Ironhide had and should be able to understand the Earth tradition of a "birthday" well enough to help explain it to Wheelie and the triplets if needed. Besides, it just would seem wrong not to invite Optimus.

So that's how a semi-truck, an emergency vehicle, and three motorcycles pulled into the Lennox's driveway. Sam ran over and pulled out a large bag from Optimus' cab. As he removed the package, the new arrivals changed shape. Again, Annabelle's eyes grew huge, but was less disturbed by these larger transformers.

"Pretty," she commented, looking at the Arcee triplets. "Are you more of Ironhide's friends?"

"Yes," answered Optimus calmly looking at the friendly child, "My name is Optimus Prime. It is a pleasure to meet you, Annabelle."

"Hi Optimus," the girl grinned up at the giant robot, "You're really tall. Even taller than Ironhide. Do all of you work with Daddy and Ironhide at stopping bad robots too?"

"Sure do," the triplet called Chromia laughed, "If the big guy doesn't last them all before we get there. You almost feel sorry for those Decepticons when Ironhide gets going."

"Don't worry about me," grunted Sam, struggling under the weight of the bag. A large, wrapped box peeked out. "Leave the human to carry the gift from the giant aliens."

Reaching down, Arcee grasped the bag gently. "Don't send a boy to do a femme's job," she muttered.

"We asked Sam and Mikaela to chose a gift that would be appropriate for Annabelle," Optimus explained, after giving further introductions to the small child, "since the exchanging of gifts is one of the traditions of 'birthday parties.' I asked them to use their best judgment of what the child would prefer."

"And the government is picking up the bill," the boy laughed. "After the last 'incident' of me helping to save the world with these guys, they set up a fund for me to use regarding 'Cybertronian related expenses'." The boy did air quotes at this point. "Mostly, I've used it for Bumblebee's addiction to car washes. But, I figure gift buying for them counts too."

"And I picked out what I would have wanted at her age," Mikaela explained. "Sadly, some assembly is required. But we hope you like it, Annabelle."

She was excited, but she had a question. "What did you get for Ironhide?"

Sam's smile was just a little too big. "Well, what do you get a transforming truck? Spare tires? Motor oil? I just don't know what he would like. But, I did find something that should work." He pulled a suspicious small box out of the bag. "And I hope you enjoy it, Ironhide."

"Candles first," Annabelle explained. "Then presents."

Her mommy was already lighting the candle on the cake. Instead of a tiny birthday one, she had found a large candle normally used for a centerpiece. The candle dwarfed the cake, but Ironhide dwarfed the candle. He gave an unpleasant glare at Wheelie, who was snickering. Annabelle took it upon herself to explain the entire thing.

"On your birthday, you put candles on a cake. However many years old you are, that's how many candles you use. But if it would be too many candles, then you can just use one. Everyone then sings 'Happy Birthday,' and when they are done, whoever's birthday it is blows out the candles and makes a wish. After that, you open presents and eat cake. Or," she added, looking at the robotic guests, "the humans eat cake. But it's still fun."

She knew from experience that the distant look in their faces meant they were on the internet checking what she had told them to make sure they understood. Probably, they were also looking up the words to "Happy Birthday." Very quickly, far faster than Daddy's computer could ever work, they were done. Understanding now filled their features. Some may think it would be difficult to interpret a metal face's expression, but it really wasn't.

"Annabelle, sweetheart, why don't you help Ironhide blow out the candle," her mommy suggested. "Since you're such a big girl and have done this before."

The emergency vehicle, Ratchet, gave a light chuckle. Ironhide shot a look at him. Annabelle knew that look. Her friend gave that look to squirrels, raccoons, and birds that perched above him. It was his "I give you five seconds to run before I take action." Most of the nearby wildlife was also familiar with that look. Ratchet ignored it.

"Okay," the girl agreed, climbing up on the picnic table to be close to the tall candle. "But Ironhide doesn't need my help. He can do anything."

Her statement earned a few "aww…'s" from most of the humans, a giggle from Cromia, and out-right laugh from Wheelie. Ironhide turned his blue eyes skyward. Annabelle simply stuck her tongue out at the transformed toy, who was already receiving a warning kick from Mikaela.

"On the count of three, we start singing," instructed Daddy, grinning broadly. "One, two, three!"

When he said three, five human and assorted Cybertronian voices began to hesitantly repeat the traditional verses. Even Bumblebee found a recording of the song to play. When it came to the part that went "Happy birthday dear Ironhide," it was even more hesitant and a few more chuckles, but Annabelle sang it smoothly. It was Ironhide's birthday and she was happy for him.

As soon as they finished singing, she took a deep breath. Annabelle blew as hard as she could, extinguishing the candle. She smiled up at her metallic friend.

"Happy birthday, Ironhide," she cheered.


	6. Presents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to open the gifts.

While he normally trusted the boy's judgment, Ironhide wondered what had possessed Sam to invite Ratchet. He may not be as childish as the twins, that didn't mean the medic would ever let him live this down. He knew that tiny comments about the entire event would be randomly brought up at regular intervals by Ratchet. Starting first with how the weapon specialist was apparently going soft, being bullied into such things by a mere youngling. Ironhide was just thankful he had escaped the whole 'party hat' problem.

Since it had been Annabelle's birthday first, she was going to un-wrap the gifts for her first. The flimsy colorful paper was no real concealment beyond the most basic visual one of the contents. Even then, the general shape could still be made out. A quick scan could easily reveal the identity of the gift, but Annabelle had commanded "no peeking" for anyone. So the Cybertronian stood by as she opened the large package from the Autobots.

When she removed the flimsy paper, a corrugated cardboard box declared that its contents included a two-wheeled self-propelled transport device called a "bicycle." Also included appeared to be a pair of smaller wheels for extra stability and a number of safety devices, including a head covering that would have been insisted on by Ratchet. And Ironhide didn't know how, but Sam and Mikaela had somehow found a "bicycle" in the exact shades of pink, purple, and blue as the triplets. Overall, Annabelle looked thrilled ever the gift, begging Lennox to put it together.

Ironhide, feeling a little awkward, bent down to Annabelle, "I too selected you a gift, though I had your parents to actually obtain it for me."

Mrs. Lennox handed her daughter a small package. Unwrapping it, the girl treated him with an even bigger grin than the one she had for the "bicycle." On the internet, he had found a way to special order certain things. She now held a box of drawing implements, all in the color black.

"You are often saying you run out of the wax drawing implements of the shade black," Ironhide slowly explained, "So you should now have enough for the time being."

He could feel those around him staring, but he chose to not and determine whether they looked at him in shock or amusement, though the tiniest snicker told him which Wheelie was feeling. A more appropriate gift from him would be a weapon or something similar in style. But Annabelle wasn't a warrior. No matter how she may react to that wretched Carl, she was a sweet and caring child who would rather create than destroy. And Ironhide wanted her to stay that way.

The small girl was so happy with her present, smiling broadly to those around her. "Look, Ironhide got me black crayons. Thank you, Ironhide."

"You're welcome, Annabelle," he answered, enjoying her excitement.

"Okay, big guy," Sam announced, holding up a tiny package. "This is for you. I think it's perfect for you." Somehow, the boy's tone and body language argued otherwise.

Ironhide looked at the gift carefully. There was no possible way for him to separate paper from package himself, and Annabelle had mysteriously slipped away at the moment. Seeing the Autobot's size dilemma, the boy began to tear the paper himself. The box that he revealed was bare of any label or logos, so there was still not any hint of the actual present. Sam now looked nervous as he reached inside.

What he pulled out explained his reluctance to be near the gun-wielding robot. Two cube objects were connected by a string. On each side of the cubes, a number of round dots were in place, ranging from a single one to six on a single side. The surface of the shapes was furry, like a mammalian creature of the planet, though these objects were inanimate. To finish of the strangeness and indignity of the gift, the entire thing was a bright shade of pink, a color associated with feminity and other "girly-ness."

Mikaela, who apparently had no idea of the true nature of the present before, choked out laughing, "A pair of fuzzy pink dice? Sam, are you suicidal?"

"No," Sam grinned broadly, "Ironhide can't kill me with so many witnesses. This is my best opportunity."

Wheelie obviously agreed with the boy's logic because he began to laugh out loud at the giant Autobot. Ironhide strongly desired to blast the tiny ex-Decepticon into scrap metal.

"Ironhide, I got you a present too," Annabelle's sweet voice announced before a stream of cold water struck Sam in the back, causing the youth to scream in surprise.

Apparently, the girl had pulled a similar tactic to when Sam and Mikaela first baby-sat and retrieved her water-based weaponry. She now stood on the porch, laughing as the older boy floundered around to the amusement of all. Lennox pushed over a large plastic container holding what appeared to be rubber spherical shapes filled with more water. These must have been prepared earlier in the day.

"I figured someone might try to pull something like what Sam did," explained Lennox, "So me and Annabelle prepared you some ammo that does less collateral damage than your cannons." Holding a red colored water balloon, the man threw it at the youth, which burst on impact and further soaked him. "Happy birthday, Ironhide."

Holding out a servo so the man could pass him a few of these less dangerous weapons, Ironhide growled, "You have thirty seconds. Use them wisely."

Sam and Wheelie, who didn't like the expression the weapon specialist directed at him as well, starting try and put distance between them and the smiling Cybertronian. It wasn't enough.


	7. Water Balloons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting into a water balloon fight with a Cybertronian can lead to only one result...

How many water balloons does it take to completely soak a boy? The answer is a lot. Sam was hit by so many projectiles, it wasn't funny. Rather, it was hilarious. Ironhide wasn't the weapon specialist of the group for nothing. Even with his tiny targets of Sam and Wheelie running and trying to dodge the oncoming attack, the Cybertronian's aim was true. And anytime the pair thought they had found an area that the giant robot couldn't reach, Annabelle flushed them out with her water gun.

Sam finally had a brilliant idea. He ran towards the main group of laughing humans and Autobots. Believing his loving girlfriend and best friend guardian would surely save him, he was sadly disappointed to find them holding a pair of water balloons each and looking at him mischievously.

"No fair," he yelled at them, seeing his retreat was now being blocked by the Annabelle/Ironhide team. "That is so unfair. You two are supposed to be on my side."

The boy didn't know which movie his Camaro snatched it from, but Bumblebee's reply was simply, "All's fair in love and war.

All four opened fire, saturating Sam, Wheelie, and somehow catching Ratchet in the cross-fire. No one admitted who hit the medic, but the fact it hit his head and Ironhide tried to look innocent about it, everyone could guess. The results were a dripping Sam, a complaining Wheelie, and a grumbling Ratchet. Not to mention the complete amusement of the attackers and party guests.

Taking pity on the shivering boy, Lennox brought him out a towel, "You brought this on yourself."

Sam glared at the older man, "You had those things waiting for me! You planned this before you knew what I got him."

"True, I didn't know what you got Ironhide," he acknowledged, "But I do know you. Besides, it was partially Annabelle's idea. She wanted to get Ironhide something 'fun.' And what does he like better than an excuse to attack someone?"

Pulling the towel across his shoulders, Sam commented with a slight grin, "That was kind of fun."

"What about me?" shouted Wheelie irritably. His stance was very reminiscent of a drenched cat, hunched over and standing on tippy-toes grumpily. Even without the water-logged fur, he gave the same glare a wet feline would. "I get dragged here, sit in a hot car all day, called a baby by that little human, and finally attacked by Ironhide and that miniature Ironhide. And I'll bet I'll rust away and no one will care! I should just have said 'no way ever' when Warrior Goddess asked me to come."

"Oh lighten up about it," Mikaela chuckled, walking over to the dripping pair and Lennox. "Annabelle had a good time. Ironhide enjoyed himself. And neither one of you are hurt. So get over it, Wheelie. If you hadn't laughed as hard, he might not have thrown as many balloons at you."

"But did he have to keep hitting my head? He throws them too hard," the tiny Cybertronian complained.


	8. Chatting

Eventually, as was the case with most parties, the adults started talking. Usually at this point, Annabelle and the other kids would go play. But this time, she was the only child present. So she wandered around. Ironhide, chuckling softly about the water balloon fight, had remained with her for a little while, but she finally convinced him to spend some time with his other guests "because it's polite." Annabelle giggled as he tried to talk to the girl robot, Chromia. Her best friend _liked_ her. And she was pretty, Annabelle thought. So the child was on her own as the weapon specialist tried to have a conversation with one of the triplets.

"Hello again, Annabelle," a voice surprised her. Looking at the source, she found Optimus watching her with interest.

She grinned up at the leader of the Autobots, "Hi Optimus. Having fun?"

"It has been an interesting experience, yes," he nodded. "And it was very kind of you to share this earth tradition with us."

Annabelle happily explained, "I thought Ironhide would like to have a birthday. They're lots of fun and… I don't know. He needed to have some fun. I thought a party would be good for him."

"He does deserve a chance to celebrate and relax. Too many centuries of war has given all of us little to celebrate. But perhaps that can change in time."

She tilted her head slightly, "Centuries are really, really long. My teacher said so. That's a long, long time to be fighting. And no parties or fun? I'm sorry. Maybe you can come to Daddy's birthday too. He won't mind."

Optimus gave a soft chuckle, "Perhaps, small one. Perhaps."

Annabelle, changing subjects, asked, "Ironhide really likes Chromia, doesn't he? I know, because he looks all nervous talking to her. Should we tell her that he likes her?"

"I believe it would be better if he fights that battle on his own. Some fights are more easily won alone," he suggested.

"Okay," Annabelle sighed. "If you think so. But they look so happy together."

Optimus confided in the child, "He is actually very happy here, you know. Some think Ironhide is not truly content unless he is on the battlefield, but I can see he finds a certain amount of pleasure here as well. A different kind of happiness."

"He does act happy," the girl agreed. "I like it when he's happy. I want him to be happy, so I try to be nice and help make him happy. With pretty pictures and parties and stuff. And I try and keep him company and talk to him. Ironhide is my friend and he should be happy when he is here."

The tall Autobot looked at the young child. So innocent and carefree, she was completely assured by Ironhide's presence that all was as it should be. How simply youth views the world, without the veils of past experience and doubts of what is possible to cloud their judgment. It did not matter to Annabelle that her friend was an alien of another world, who had been alive for more centuries than she could imagine and would be around for several more if he avoided falling in battle. She knew that Ironhide was her friend and that was all she needed to know. No wonder their war-hardened weapon specialist showed a different, softer side of himself around her. In someways, it reminded Optimus of Sam and Bumblebee, only even more basic and without the early uncertainties the boy had possessed about the Cybertronian. Annabelle had no doubts about Ironhide. And he had none about the girl.

"He cares a great deal for you," Optimus finally told her.

She smiled up at the Autobot sweetly, "I know. He's my best friend in the whole universe."


	9. Aftermath

Eventually, the various conversations began to die down. Ratchet had already made a remark or two towards the weapon specialist about how he knew Ironhide had thrown the water balloon at him and it had been on purpose. Somehow, the transformed truck couldn't quite pull of the look of complete innocence convincingly. Lennox had been chuckling for over an hour with Mikaela about the water balloon battle. Sam, on the other hand, was begging Bumblebee to explain why his "guardian" had decided to turn against "his poor, defenseless human charge." Needless to say, the boy said this in as dramatic a way possible, but he just couldn't keep a straight face through his pathetic monologue. Wheelie spent most of the rest of his stay muttering darkly and sending angry glances at Ironhide and Annabelle when they weren't looking. Apparently, the little ex-Decepticon did not like getting drenched. The triplets mostly talked amongst themselves (an interesting activity to watch since they finished each other's sentences or even forgot to speak out loud at all) or sometimes with Ironhide. But even his attempts to speak to Chromia slowly stopped.

Almost by silent agreement, the Autobot and human guests had determined it was time to for them to return to the base or home. The various Cybertronians began to shift into their vehicle form. Ironhide could hear Sam stubbornly talking to Bumblebee. It was actually quite an interesting conversation.

"No, Bee. I refuse to throw you a birthday party. It's one thing for a little kid to do it, but when someone my age starts having parties for his car… No. I can't do it anyway."

Bumblebee, selecting an ideal song, asked, "Why not? Take a crazy chance. Why not? Do a crazy dance."

Sam fixed his Camaro with a deadly serious look. "Remember how ticked off my mom was after that mini killer robot invasion to the house? And all the damage caused by them and you? Not to mention the first time you guys were in my backyard where it ended up looking like a localized disaster. Face it. Large number of Cybertronians in my backyard always leads to trouble. So, again, no party Bumblebee."

Out of his speakers came sad violin music that left Sam groaning at the over-acting. Annabelle ran over the yellow hood, a concerned look on her face.

"Don't worry," she answered the Autobot, "You can have it here. Mommy, Daddy, and Ironhide won't mind."

The boy gave the expected groan and eye-roll. Ironhide could sympathize with him. Once that child made up her mind on something, there was no escape. Hence today's events.

Over the com-link, Sideswipe suddenly shouted warning, "Trouble. Twin trouble. Mudflap and Skids were wondering where everyone was. They're following your signals. Whatever you are doing, I'd get prepared for them. They found a new prank on the internet involving glue, bird feathers, a dozen eggs, and something called 'silly string.' I don't know what it is, but I don't like it. So don't blame me for whatever it is."

Chromia's hologram rolled her eyes, "Figures those two glitch-heads would try to crash the party. Even if they don't know about it."

Mikaela, who not being a robot obviously missed the transmitted message, still figure out the gist of the problem, "So, I take it the Duo of Disaster are coming. I suggest we prevent that level of mayhem before Ironhide has to kill them."

"That might actually be fun to watch," Wheelie commented.

"Unless, since he would already have his cannons out and firing, he decides to blast a certain ex-Decepticon too," pointed out Sam as he climbed into his vehicle.

Wheelie, an expression of terror and apprehension on him, jumped through Bumblebee's open window in a panic, "Shut up and drive!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Bumblebee played is "Why Not" from Hilary Duff (I can't believe that stupid thing is still floating around in my head, but the lyrics worked.)


End file.
